8 Best Champagne Alternatives (Based on the Style You Like)

Champagne might be the world’s most famous sparkling wine, but it doesn’t have a monopoly on great bubbles.

Traditional-method sparkling wines are made all over the world, from the hills of Burgundy to the cool vineyards of Tasmania. Some use the same grapes as Champagne, others share its cool-climate acidity, and many rely on the same long ageing on lees to build texture and complexity. But even Champagnes don’t all taste the same.

That’s why finding the best Champagne alternatives isn’t simply about tracking down the wine that tastes most like Champagne. It’s about working out what you like about Champagne in the first place.

If you gravitate towards Blanc de Blancs – Champagne made exclusively from white grapes, most commonly Chardonnay – you might be looking for freshness, citrus, minerality and bright acidity. If you prefer the fuller body and red-fruit character of Blanc de Noirs, made from black grapes such as Pinot Noir and Meunier, a different sparkling wine may make a better substitute. Then there are lovers of mature, savoury Champagne, or those who particularly enjoy the broader, riper character Champagne can develop in warmer vintages.

So rather than giving you a list of sparkling wines that are simply “a bit like Champagne”, we’ve matched each alternative to the particular style or characteristic of Champagne it does best.

How we chose the best Champagne alternatives

For this guide, we’ve kept the definition deliberately tight. Every wine we’ve chosen is made using the traditional method, where the second fermentation responsible for the bubbles takes place inside the bottle. We’ve then looked at the grapes, climate, ageing and character of each wine to find a meaningful point of comparison for Champagne drinkers.

That’s why you won’t find Prosecco here. Delicious though it can be, most Prosecco undergoes its second fermentation in pressurised tanks, producing a generally fruitier, more floral style of sparkling wine.

Instead, we’re looking for wines that share something fundamental with Champagne; whether that’s its acidity, structure, autolytic complexity, grape varieties or capacity for long ageing – while still having something distinctly their own to say.

The best Champagne alternatives at a glance

What makes a good alternative to Champagne?

First, it helps to establish what we’re actually trying to replace.

Champagne is made using the traditional method. A still base wine is bottled with yeast and sugar, triggering a second fermentation inside the bottle. The carbon dioxide produced during fermentation has nowhere to escape, creating the bubbles.

The wine then spends time in contact with the spent yeast cells, known as the lees. As that time increases, it can develop some of the flavours we most readily associate with Champagne: bread, brioche, pastry, nuts and toast layered over the fruit.

But method alone doesn’t make Champagne taste like Champagne.

The region’s northerly position has historically given its grapes high natural acidity, while the traditional 3 grapes; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier provide much of the familiar flavour and structure. Then come vineyard site, vintage, blending, reserve wines, lees ageing, dosage and countless decisions made by the producer.

That’s why another wine being “traditional method” isn’t enough for this list. There are plenty of traditional-method sparkling wines that bear little resemblance to Champagne.

Instead, we’ve looked for wines that share one or more of its fundamental building blocks – and matched them to the particular Champagne style they most closely speak to.

Crémant de Bourgogne: if you like a softer style of Champagne

Crémant is probably the answer you’ll hear most often when asking for an alternative to Champagne.

But “buy Crémant” isn’t particularly useful advice.

Crémant is produced across several French appellations, using grapes native or important to each region. A Chenin-led Crémant de Loire and a Pinot Blanc-heavy Crémant d’Alsace are both excellent sparkling wines, but neither necessarily resembles the Champagne you’re trying to replace.

For a more direct comparison, look to Crémant de Bourgogne.

Burgundy sits immediately south of Champagne, sharing some of its cool-climate conditions, and Chardonnay is central to its sparkling wines. Pinot Noir is also widely used, although Chardonnay-led examples make a particularly good place to start if it’s Champagne’s freshness and finesse you’re after.

Where Crémant de Bourgogne can differ is in its feel. The mousse can come across as softer and less forceful than in many Champagnes, giving the wine a gentler, creamier impression while retaining the freshness and traditional-method character. Expect citrus and orchard fruit in younger wines, with breadier, more savoury flavours developing with lees ageing.

That makes it particularly appealing if you enjoy Champagne but sometimes find its combination of high acidity and vigorous bubbles a little too assertive.

Try it if: you like the freshness and flavours of Champagne but prefer a softer, gentler mousse.

Chardonnay-led Cava: if you like richer, longer-aged Champagne

Cava has spent decades fighting an image problem.

Its ubiquity at the inexpensive end of the sparkling-wine aisle means it’s easy to forget that it shares one enormously important feature with Champagne: its bubbles are created by a second fermentation in the bottle.

Traditional Cava, however, isn’t necessarily the closest stylistic alternative to Champagne.

Its historic grape trio of Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada gives the wines a distinctly Spanish identity. That’s precisely what makes good Cava interesting, but it isn’t necessarily what someone searching specifically for Champagne-like flavours is after.

Instead, look for Chardonnay-led Cava, including the occasional example made entirely from Chardonnay.

Then look beyond the youngest wines. In particular, look for Cava de Guarda Superior, the category reserved for Cavas aged for at least 18 months on the lees, with Reserva and Gran Reserva wines spending longer still. That extra time in contact with the lees can bring the toast, brioche, nuttiness and creamy texture that many people associate with more mature Champagne.

Higher-tier, long-aged examples can offer considerable depth and complexity, while Chardonnay provides a more familiar stylistic bridge for Champagne drinkers. As a useful shortcut when shopping, “Guarda Superior” on the label tells you you’re already looking beyond basic Cava and into its longer-aged styles.

This isn’t about finding a Spanish imitation of Champagne. It’s about finding a traditional-method sparkling wine that can deliver some of the same lees-aged, savoury complexity in a distinctly different setting.

Try it if: the toasty, creamy, savoury side of Champagne is what keeps you coming back.

Franciacorta: if you like savoury Champagne with insider appeal

Produced in Lombardy, Franciacorta is made by the traditional method and relies predominantly on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with Pinot Bianco also permitted. On paper, then, the comparison with Champagne is obvious. In the glass, however, Franciacorta has a character very much of its own.

What stands out is often its savoury quality. Alongside citrus and orchard fruit, you can find notes of toasted nuts, pastry, herbs and a subtle saline or mineral character, giving the wines a gastronomic quality that makes them particularly good at the table.

And while Franciacorta doesn’t have Champagne’s global fame, that’s partly its appeal. The best producers have the sort of reputation among sparkling-wine enthusiasts that makes discovering a great bottle feel a little like knowing your favourite grower Champagne before everyone else does.

Try it if: you like savoury, gastronomic Champagne and bottles with a little cult appeal.

English sparkling wine: if you like old-school Champagne

If you find yourself nostalgic for the leaner, racier Champagnes of decades past, you might want to look across the Channel.

As Champagne’s climate has warmed, grapes are generally ripening more readily and achieving higher potential alcohol, subtly changing the balance of the wines. Southern England, meanwhile, has historically offered the kind of marginal, cool-climate conditions that Champagne itself was once famous for.

The similarities go further. Most of England’s leading sparkling wines are made from the same 3 grapes using the traditional method, while parts of southern England sit on the same broad band of chalk geology that extends beneath the Channel into northern France.

That combination of cool temperatures, chalky soils in key regions and Champagne varieties can produce wines with piercing acidity, citrus and green orchard fruit, gradually gaining bread, pastry and creamier flavours with time on the lees.

The potential hasn’t gone unnoticed in Champagne either. Taittinger established Domaine Evremond in Kent, while Pommery has invested in English sparkling wine through its Pinglestone Estate project; remarkable endorsements from producers who know a thing or two about where sparkling-wine grapes thrive.

English sparkling wine isn’t a time capsule, and its best producers are increasingly developing identities of their own. But there is an interesting irony here: as Champagne gets warmer, some English sparkling wines can offer a glimpse of the taut, high-acid style historically associated with its famous neighbour.

Try it if: you love lean, racy, high-acid Champagne – particularly the more austere styles of years gone by.

Trentodoc: if you like Champagne for its cool-climate freshness

Champagne has latitude on its side. Trentodoc has altitude.

Produced in Trentino in northern Italy, Trentodoc comes from vineyards that climb through the valleys and foothills of the Dolomites, in some cases reaching considerable elevations. That mountain environment is central to understanding the wines.

Despite being considerably further south than Champagne, altitude helps moderate temperatures, while pronounced differences between warm days and cool nights can allow grapes to ripen while retaining the acidity essential for serious sparkling wine.

Chardonnay is particularly important here, and it’s a useful reminder that there’s more than one way to create the conditions needed for great sparkling wine.

Try it if: you love the freshness and precision of cool-climate Champagne and want to see what happens when altitude, rather than latitude, provides the chill.

Cap Classique: if you like Champagne from a ripe vintage

Vintage matters enormously in Champagne.

In cooler years, the wines can be taut, linear and citrus-driven. Warmer growing seasons can bring greater ripeness, generosity and fruit, while still retaining the acidity and structure needed for serious sparkling wine.

If you consistently prefer the latter, South African Cap Classique is worth exploring.

Cap Classique is South Africa’s term for sparkling wine made using the traditional method, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir forming the backbone of many of the country’s leading examples.

Being warmer than Champagne, translates into more generous, immediately expressive fruit: think ripe citrus and stone fruit.

Try it if: you tend to prefer fruitier expressions of Champagne from warmer, riper vintages.

Riesling Winzersekt: if you’re an acid freak and feeling adventurous

Germany produces a vast amount of Sekt, encompassing everything from inexpensive tank-fermented fizz to extraordinarily serious sparkling wine. So simply picking up something labelled “Sekt” isn’t enough.

Instead, seek out traditional-method Winzersekt and, if acidity is the thing you’re chasing, make sure it says Riesling.

Riesling naturally possesses formidable acidity. Give it a second fermentation in bottle and time on the lees and you retain that freshness while adding bubbles, texture and another layer of complexity.

Flavour-wise, however, we’re moving quite some distance from Champagne. Riesling is more aromatic than Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, bringing citrus, green apple and stone fruit, alongside the distinctive petrol, beeswax characteristics the variety can develop with age.

And that’s precisely why it belongs here.

This isn’t for someone searching for a less expensive bottle that tastes as close to Champagne as possible. It’s for the person who has realised that what they really love is that electrifying combination of bubbles and acidity and is adventurous enough to see how far it can go.

Try it if: you’re an acid freak, but an adventurous one.

Tasmanian sparkling wine: if you want a premium New World alternative

If you want to take your search for a Champagne alternative beyond Europe, Tasmania is one of the most compelling places to start.

The island has made a serious name for itself as a source of premium New World sparkling wine.

Tasmania sits considerably further south than Australia’s major mainland wine regions, providing the cool conditions that suit Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

That combination allows producers to retain the acidity and freshness essential to serious sparkling wine while still giving the wines a distinctly New World expression. Expect citrus and orchard fruit alongside riper apple and subtle red-fruit flavours, with extended lees ageing bringing the familiar bread, pastry and creamy complexity.

Try it if: you want the grapes, method and seriousness of Champagne, but are ready to explore what premium New World sparkling wine can be.

A few questions answered

Ready to find a bottle?

Now you know which sparkling wine suits your Champagne tastes, it’s time for the fun part. Our picks of the best Champagne alternatives to buy now, from Crémant and Cava to English sparkling wine, Franciacorta and beyond.